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Bill and Melinda Gates in Vietnam to talk health |
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Vietnam News Headlines
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Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates and wife Melinda sat down with Vietnam's prime minister on Tuesday to discuss ways to improve children's health in the communist country.
"We're learning about the Vietnamese immunization system," Bill Gates said.
The world's richest couple arrived Sunday for a three-day trip to learn about Vietnam's health programs, including vaccines given for preventable childhood diseases like measles and polio. No agreements were signed.
Bill Gates congratulated Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on Vietnam's recent accession to the World Trade Organization, and highlighted his company's success in Vietnam before the 45-minute meeting began behind closed doors.
"Microsoft is very happy with its presence here," Gates said.
Prior to the meeting, the couple sat down with Health Ministry officials along with representatives from the World Health Organization, UNICEF and nonprofit organizations to discuss Vietnam's vaccination system.
"They said it would be a good example for other countries in the world to follow our vaccination programs for children," said Nguyen Tran Hien, director of the National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology.
On Monday, the Gates' agreed in principle to support Vietnam with research on vaccine development for children, said Nguyen Thi Hong Hanh, vice director of the institute.
The couple also visited two clinics on the outskirts of Hanoi on Monday, chatting with new mothers and watching babies being immunized, said Duong Thi Khien, director of the Dong Anh district health center.
"The program has managed to get 90 percent of under 1 children immunized against fatal diseases," Bill Gates was quoted as telling the Vietnam News. "This is a particularly well-run public health system."
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